Fresh Perspectives

With only 10 days left before my Freshman year of college is officially over, I'm making every minute of this last week and a half count.  For about a month now, I've been having this unfamiliar feeling of not wanting it all to end.  Throughout high school, I couldn't wait for summertime, but after this wonderful year at Carolina, I'm kinda bummed to have to leave.  I'm going to have to get used to rules and chores and especially the dreaded curfew again.  Don't get me wrong, I'll be super excited to reunite with old friends, but I'll definitely be making a few trips around the Southeast to visit my new friends from college.

This past weekend was a blast.  I probably slept a total of 8 hours....and even that's pushin' it.  I practically lived at my friend's room in Sims and my abs were sore from laughing after an entire weekend of fun.  It felt so good to be able to hang out with 'the crew' 24/7, not having any real responsibilities or prior commitments.

Saturday after an huge breakfast at IHOP (I needed a wheel-chair to get outta that place) we took a little trip to the Rocks (aka the River).  Now, the River is one of the best kept secrets of Columbia.  Just one exit up from downtown, headed out towards West Columbia, is the Riverbanks Zoo, appropriately named since it's right on the banks of a river.  Anyway, if you go all the way to the back of the parking lot, there are a few trails leading into what looks to be like some ordinary forest.  But oh no, on a warm Saturday, the trail leads past a few trees, down a hill and opens up to 'The Rocks' filled with hundreds of college students hanging out on a bunch of rocks in the middle of a river.  It sounds a bit strange, but in my opinion, its one of the best things to do on a hot, humid afternoon.  When it gets to be July and August, it's fun to tie a few rafts together and float down the river, but this time of year the water's still pretty cold, so sun bathing on one of the huge bolders will do for now.  Either way, it's just good to get outside and hangout with a big group of friends and enjoy life! 

Posted by Kendall at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In today's fast-paced, technological society, it's pretty easy to find things out, wouldn't you say? 

For example, a few weeks ago, two friends of mine were debating over which was heavier....a gallon of water or a gallon of sand.  To me, it seemed like a trivial thing to argue about (maybe it's a guy-thing, I don't know).  If I were debating though, I can tell you it'd be on something a little more intellectually stimulating than sand and water.  Either way, they decided to settle it right then and there.  I figured they were about to pull out two buckets, but oh no, they grabbed a cell phone and started dialing.  One of the guys proceeded to ask the question to the person on the other end of the line.  As it turns out, there's some 'magical' toll-free number you can dial and ask any question you're curious about.  I bet it's just some guys sitting behind a computer screen frantically searching the Internet, but either way...they'll find you the answers you're looking for. That completely amazed me.  Not only can you get quick info from Google, Yahoo, and other search engines online, you can now simply dial a number to get answers. 

Now, future Gamecocks, as school is winding down and you're anticipating COLLEGE in the fall, I'm sure there are a few unanswered questions you'd like to ask.  Feel free to post a comment with anything you'd like for me to address in the upcoming week.  I'm happy to help answer your questions as best as I can.  Other than that, you can always go to the University website at sc.edu.

P.S.  If you're still wondering which is heavier....a gallon of water or a gallon of sand, too bad.  You'll just have to take advantage of this Age of Information and Technology and find out for yourselves!

Posted by Kendall at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It has been only one week after the Va. Tech massacre and still, I cannot believe it is all real.  I woke up last Monday morning after the first two shootings, and read the news on the Internet, which unfortunately didn't phase me very much.  (What does that say about violence in our everyday lives, huh?)  It wasn't until that afternoon at work, when hearing about the other murders that I really begin to feel the effects of what was happening.

Through this tragedy, I've realized that technology is certainly a remarkable thing.  The 24 hour news coverage, video images, Internet articles, and first-hand accounts brought the Virginia Tech shootings into every household in America.  Through this coverage, a school and a nation came together.  I have seen so many people honoring both those who were killed and those that survived the horrible day.  USC has held multiple ceremonies and candle-light vigils for the victims and their families, as I'm sure most colleges have.  Students have been wearing the VT colors in honor of the University, and have held signs saying, "Today, We are all Hokies...".

When tragic things like this happen, one cannot help but realize how precious life is. A professor of mine really hit home when he came into class Tuesday afternoon and stood in front of us in silence.  He looked at each student and finally admitted it was hard for him to lecture that day.  "How can I continue lecturing as I did last week this time when something like this has happened?  It could have been any college campus, it could have been any dormatory or classroom, it could have been any of you."  The truth is.....he is exactly right.

So, always remember that you only get one life to live...so try to make a difference each and every day.  Do something fun for yourself, smile at a stranger, eat that extra brownie...you never know which day will be your last.

In conclusion, I want to give a special tribute to all of the victims of the Virginia Tech Massacre.  I have been praying steadily for their families and will contintue to pray for the entire student body as they go back to classes today.  I think one of the VT students was correct when she said, "You have broken our hearts, but you have not broken our spirits.  We are stronger and prouder than ever...Love, in the end, will always prevail."

Posted by Kendall at 09:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Now that I finally have a few minutes of free time, I'll try to catch you all up on the craziness that I've been calling my life lately!  Let's see, I'll take it back a week to last Sunday night....the Widespread Panic concert here in Cola. at the Township Auditorium. Oh, what a blast.  First of all, I love live music.  Second of all, WSP is one of my favorite bands. And third, it doesn't hurt to have a bunch of your friends jammin' out right beside you.

I've had my ticket since Christmas time, and even though I spent last weekend in Charleston, I was so stoked to keep the fun going when I got back Sunday afternoon.  The show started at 7:30 and wow....I was completely blown away by all the good songs they played.  Now, I will say this:  Panic is considered a jam band, so at their concerts, they do a lot of improv. stuff.  Some people don't like this, but to me, it's what makes you move!  I love to get in the crowd and dance around with all my friends. Some people call it hippie dancing, others (my brother in particular) calls it 'wet noodling', but either way it feels so good to get into the music and let loose!  Ahh, writing this makes me want to go hear some live music right now!!!

Needless to say, I was dead tired after two sets and an encore, but even after all that, I was still sad to leave!  I can't stress enough how much fun concerts are.  Future Gamecocks, you should definitely use next year's freedom to go see some good shows around the area.  Columbia has some decent music venues but especially check out the music scenes of Charleston, Myrtle Beach, Charlotte, Greenville, or even Raleigh.  I can't wait until the next concert I get to see...coming up in only 2 weeks!  After every show, I leave with so much energy and can't help but ask myself the words of one of Widespread Panic's most well-known songs....."Ain't Life Grand?"!

Posted by Kendall at 07:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Kendall at 08:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After a nearly perfect weekend, I woke up this morning and got a slap in the face from Mr. Reality.  Don't you just hate that feeling when you come back from vacation or just a good weekend and face the fact that you've gotta get back to school and work?  Well, that's how I felt this morning when my alarm went off bright and early at 7 o'clock.

Even though I missed a pretty exciting weekend in the Capitol City, I took an unexpected trip down to Charleston to stay with some friends from high school who just moved into a house a block away from King Street.  Since they're still trying to get situated, I had to whip out some of my Martha Stewart skills and hang pictures and curtains.  Even though home decor isn't really my thing, it was good to be able to help out.  Then, Saturday was my friend Heather's 19th birthday so we baked a confetti cake for her.  (Wow....decorating and baking in one weekend! My mom would be proud.)  Besides relaxing and acting crazy with all my friends, I became a Wii adict!  It's okay if you don't know what Wii is, because I had never played it until this weekend.  It's Nintendo's newest game.  Instead of simply holding the controlers in your hand, though, you use them as if you were really playing the sport.  So for baseball you actually swing and throw and for golf, you really act like you are swinging the club.  It sounds kind of childish, but I'm telling you it's a lot of fun.  I woke up Saturday morning with a sore right arm from bowling, so I decided to play left handed tennis, to give that arm an equal workout!

Although I was in Charleston, things were still busy around Columbia, especially in the athletics department.  Gamecock baseball won 2 out of 3 games against Auburn in a really unusual series.  Our guys forgot what how to play Friday night, losing 16-1 (ouch!), but then came back strong the rest of the weekend with big wins both Saturday and Sunday. 

In addition to baseball, Carolina football ended up spring practice this past weekend.  35,000 fans came out to Williams-Brice stadium for the annual Garnet and Black Spring Game on Saturday.  Hootie and the Blowfish (Columbia natives, I might add) kicked things off with a concert before the game.  Although our offense was just mediocre, the defense showed up pretty big.  I'm not making any predictions though until our first real game of the season!

Posted by Kendall at 07:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"Upon us all, a little rain must fall..." - These words from Led Zeppelin are certainly fitting for today's dreary weather, but I don't mind it a bit.  We need some rain to clear out the pollen and all of our stuffed up noses!  That's probably one of the only downfalls to SC weather....the pollen. (And the humidity....but I'll get back to that in July, when standing outside for a minute requires a shower!) 

But anyway, after my 9 o'clock class, I was strugglin' to keep my eyes open, so I decided to take a quick power nap before class at 11.  Now, let me get this straight, if there's one thing I love....it's sleeping.  I get teased sometimes because I can fall asleep anytime...anyplace, day or night!  I got my love of naps from my dad, who is a world class napper (seriously, if napping were a sport, you'd probably see him on ESPN).  So yeah, I layed down to take a quick 30 minute slumber, woke up, and realized it was the WORST nap ever, which...if you love sleeping as much as I do, you'd realize how traumatic this was for me.  First, I woke up feeling yuck (the perfect word to describe it)! And second, my mind must have been all over the place because I had about 5 crazy dreams, and I felt like I was half asleep/half awake the whole time.  This was quite disappointing, but thankfully I've gotten over the blah feeling and have moved on with my day.  If my naps don't improve however....we're going to have some serious trouble!

Off to work on this rainy Wednesday...

Posted by Kendall at 10:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Despite waking up in 40 degree weather on a dreary Monday morning of a week devoted solely to 'all work and no play', I am having a fantabulous day (that's right...not just fantastic or fabulous...but both all at once).  In large part, it's due to a new song that I just can't seem to shake from my head:  Paolo Nutini's "New Shoes".  If you haven't heard it....download immediately!  Wait, I suppose I shouldn't be encouraging d/ling with the ever-present sharing vs. piracy debate, but c'mon, who of us hasn't resorted to Limewire to hear that one song every once in a while.  Anywho, Nutini's song is about a guy who wakes up in a 'blah' mood (as I like to call it), puts on his normal jeans/t-shirt combo (my favorite outfit), and a "pair of old shoes".  Last minute, he decides that his old shoes just don't suit him anymore and puts on (can you guess?)...some new shoes!

Now, my amazingly good mood really has nothing to do with a pair of new shoes, although I could use some new Rainbow's for the summer season, but that's besides the fact.  The song goes on to say:

"Hey, I put my new shoes on and suddenly everything is right.  I said, hey, I put my new shoes on and everybody's smiling, it's so inviting..."

I promise, when you hear this song, it will automatically put you in a good mood!  For me, it just changes my whole attitude and really makes me realize that something as ordinary as a new pair of shoes can brighten up my day.  I think it's especially important to remember this when we get all bogged down with....well....Life!  For me, I have a heap of homework piling up for the next two weeks, but I've really learned to take it one step at a time.  I'm trying this whole new optimism instead of stress thing, and it really seems to be working.

So, if you're stressed out or just in a bad mood, take a walk in some new shoes (or at least listen to the song).  You'll be surprised how your perspective on life can change when you start to let little things make you smile!

Posted by Kendall at 03:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Holidays were just so much more fun when you were a kid....am I right?!  I mean, c'mon, Christmas was just more exciting when we all believed in Santa, and I slept so much better after losing a tooth when I actually thought a little fairy would come bring me some money.  Now, looking back, we all realize why our parents were so adamant about us staying in bed on Christmas Eve.  They were the ones who took the bite out of the cookie and drank half the milk.  They were the ones who threw some spare change under our pillows when we worked so hard to wiggle out those baby teeth.  And they were the ones who bought us those overpriced Easter baskets full of candy and stuffed bunnies.  There's just not much fun to holidays anymore.

Well, some of my friends and I are out to change that!  We've decided to revert to our younger days and make this Easter fun!  Tomorrow, we're going to the grocery store to buy the ever-so-neccessary egg dying ingredients.....eggs (duh!), vinegar, and food coloring.  Not only that, but we're getting candy and the colorful little plastic eggs as well!  Can you guess what we're going to do!  Well, we're having an EASTER EGG HUNT!  Those were my favorite as a kid, especially since I was more competitive back then.  I would seriously knock you out just to fill my basket with those precious hidden eggs.  All of my friends agreed that it's been too long, and we can't have another Easter without an egg hunt. (It's always fun to shed some of that 'college' responsibility and act like a kid!)

But besides that, most of us are going home Saturday night to be with our families for Easter Sunday.  I can't wait to wear my new Easter dress at church.  That's another thing I haven't done in a while.  When I was little, I got a new Easter dress each year, but this is the first one I've bought in a long time.  I'm so excited for this Easter!!!

On a completely different note, 17 days of classes left....sweeeeet!

Posted by Kendall at 07:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

No, no.  This entry has nothing to do with something you drink out of!  It's about the infamous Carolina Cup, held annually at Springdale Race Course in Camden, South Carolina.  The 'Cup' as most of us call it gets everyone all antsy this time of year.  Girls search for the perfect dress and guys search for the perfect.....bow tie (maybe?!).

Yes, it's southern tradition at its finest.  The Carolina Cup is an actual horse race, however, most college students could care less about who wins the race or if they even get to see a horse at all.  To make it easy for out-of-staters to understand....it's like tail-gating for a football game in dressy clothes.  The field is scattered with tents and college students and I can't leave out those bright red Solo cups we're all familiar with.

But yes, the Cup gets us girls all frantic in mid-March when it's time to find the right dress.  I won't pretend to be fasionable, because I'm not.  (My mom still buys half of my wardrobe...sad, isn't it.)  But I'll do my best to inform you of the 'styles' seen at the race.  Fashion 411 for the Carolina Cup:

• Girls:
• sleeve-less, halter, or tube-top dresses are a must
• anything lacy or 'frilly'
• you can't go wrong with floral patterns
• big floppy hats 
• over-sized sunglasses (Is it just me, or do those things make you look like fruit flys?)
• and of course.....a 'Southern' girl's best friend....pearls
• Guys:
• anything pastel colored
• bow-ties preferred
• the beloved SEERSUCKER SUIT (say that one 5 times fast)
• croakies and sunglasses around the neck

Posted by Kendall at 05:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)